As we wind down the final few games of the season, the top 3 picks seem set, but there's a big group bunching up for picks #4-9. The teams have 4-7 games left. I'm curious the order everybody thinks those 6 teams will finish, as we gaze into crystal balls...

I looked at the remaining schedule for each of the 6 teams and classified games as 'should win' / 'should lose' / 'toss up'. Here's where the records 'should' end up:

Four more games left. Do they have what it takes to lose three of four? Winning half will position themselves where they currently are. The Heat game should be a no brainer loss. The Bucks are fighting for the playoff lives and so they should get that one. The Pistons and Jersey are both are on deck as well and both have the potential to swap spots with the Raptors. Winning/losing those two games could be the difference between having 5th most lottery balls and having the 9th most lottery balls.

The final standings (and lottery ball allocation) is becoming interesting.

Raps currently tied for 6th worst with NJ.

Things could get very interesting if the Raps don't win anymore.

NOH have been playing ridiculous. CLE are just one win back of Toronto with a game on the schedule versus Washington. NJ and Toronto play the final game. SAC plays the Lakers at home where they are 15-17.

There could be a multi-team tie for third worst.... and the Raptors could be a part of it.

The final standings (and lottery ball allocation) is becoming interesting.

Raps currently tied for 6th worst with NJ.

Things could get very interesting if the Raps don't win anymore.

NOH have been playing ridiculous. CLE are just one win back of Toronto with a game on the schedule versus Washington. NJ and Toronto play the final game. SAC plays the Lakers at home where they are 15-17.

There could be a multi-team tie for third worst.... and the Raptors could be a part of it.

That is insane! I was sleeping on NOH. So much so that when I looked back at the start of this thread, their future sched wasn't even worth listing. Saw them winning a few games but I thought they were entrenched in the holy trinity of the bottom three. I guess there is only one true Charlotte.

That should be an interesting question for the draft junkies. If you are 6th, you can drop no lower than ninth. But if there's a four way tie for 3rd, can you drop to 9th?

In the event that teams finish with the same record, each tied team receives the average of the total number of combinations for the positions that they occupy. In 2007, the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Portland Trail Blazers tied for the sixth worst record. The average of the 6th and 7th positions in the lottery was taken, resulting in each team getting 53 combinations (the average of 63 and 43). Should the average number not be an integer, a coin flip is then used to determine which team or teams receive the extra combination(s).

The result of the coin flip is also used to determine who receives the earlier pick in the event that neither of the tied teams wins one of the first three picks via the lottery.